73: Chapter 64 Gray Spicy Strips

After Teacher Baishi went to arrange the transportation of supplies, the camp temporarily quieted down.

Kaiwen and Kiana sat on the steps of the single-story house.

Kiana rested her hands behind her, tilting her head back to look at the sky, wondering what she was thinking about.

Kaiwen spoke first.

"The supplies here will not last much longer."

Kiana did not turn back, but let out a mn to show she was listening.

"I want to use the communicator to contact Theresa. I will tell her the coordinates and situation of this shelter, and let the Far East Branch send someone to pick up Teacher Baishi and these children."

Kiana was silent for a moment.

"Alright," she said, "but we cannot let them know we are here."

"Mn."

"We will leave right after contacting them."

Kaiwen glanced at her.

There was something in the eyes of Kiana that Kaiwen could not read through.

She did not ask where Kiana was going; she felt that Kiana probably had not figured it out herself either.

Anyway, as long as they left the sight of Destiny, it did not matter where they went.

"No rush," Kaiwen said. "We will contact them when the timing is right."

Kiana nodded slightly.

The two of them sat quietly for a while longer.

From the distance came the sound of Teacher Baishi calling people to gather.

Kiana stood up and patted the dust off her pants.

"I am going with them."

Kaiwen also stood up. "I also—"

"You stay here."

Kiana interrupted her, her tone unquestionable.

Kaiwen looked at her, but Kiana turned her face away, refusing to meet the eyes of Kaiwen.

"The camp is full of kids. Someone has to keep an eye on them."

This was an excuse.

But Kaiwen knew this was not the real reason.

She did not argue with Kiana.

"Stay safe."

"Got it."

Teacher Baishi had already gathered five or six older students at the camp entrance.

Kiana walked over to blend into the crowd and exchanged a few words with Teacher Baishi.

The main group began to walk outward along the gravel road leading to the suburban warehouse.

Kiana walked at the very back of the procession. After walking a dozen steps, she turned her head back once.

She only glanced back.

Her gaze pierced through the tents and dilapidated single-story houses in the camp, accurately meeting the eyes of Kaiwen.

Then she turned her head back and followed the team into the shadows of the ruins.

Kaiwen stood at the camp entrance, watching those figures shrink bit by bit until they were finally swallowed by the silhouette of the ruins.

She stood in place for a while longer before turning around and walking back into the camp.

After the main group left, the camp became much quieter.

Most of those remaining were children too young to follow along and move supplies.

Kaiwen helped hang the clothes washed in the morning onto the rope to dry, and checked whether the residual fire in the stove was completely extinguished.

While doing these things, she could sense someone watching her.

Kaiwen turned her head to look.

It was a girl with a short ponytail, standing at the doorway of the opposite single-story house, holding a stack of folded blankets in her arms and staring intently at Kaiwen.

Kaiwen raised her head and locked eyes with her.

The girl hesitated for a moment and walked over.

"You are... Kaiwen?" Her voice was a bit uncertain. "That Kaiwen from Chiba Academy? School Jiaxin?"

"Uh... Mn."

[What does Jiaxin mean?]

Kaiwen did not pay attention to Kallen, just looking at the girl in front of her.

The expression of the girl turned somewhat relieved.

"You are still alive..."

When she said this sentence, her voice was very soft, as if talking to herself.

The two of them were not very close.

Kaiwen only remembered her face, but could not recall her name at all.

They had seen each other a few times at Chiba Academy, occasionally nodding to each other, and that was all.

"This camp was built by Teacher Baishi," the girl put the blankets on a nearby stone. "After the Honkai outbreak, she did not evacuate. I do not know how she survived either. By the time we found her, she had already established this small camp."

Kaiwen listened without speaking.

The girl lowered her head, fiddling with the edge of the blanket in her hands.

"Right, that white-haired person who was with you earlier... that is Kiana, right?"

"Mn."

"She is alive too." The girl nodded and did not say anything more.

After a few seconds of silence, she picked up the blankets and smiled at Kaiwen.

"It is good to be alive."

She turned around and walked back into the single-story house.

Kaiwen stood in place, watching her back disappear into the doorway.

It is good to be alive.

Teacher Baishi said the same thing last night.

The camp in the afternoon was even quieter.

Most of the children huddled in the tents to hide from the sun, and occasionally a few voices drifted out from behind the fabric curtains, indistinctly heard.

Kaiwen sat alone under the eaves of the single-story house, leaning her back against the wall.

The sunlight shone on the remaining walls of the ruins opposite, drawing the shadows of the broken bricks very long.

[Kaiwen.]

The voice of Kallen floated up from her mind.

"Mn."

[What do you plan to do next?]

Kaiwen did not answer immediately.

She looked at the ruins in the distance that had been gnawed away by the Honkai, thinking for a moment.

"First, resolve the matter of these children. Contact Theresa and let her send someone over."

[And then?]

"... Have not thought about it yet."

Kallen was silent for a long time.

[These children were able to survive until now because someone did not give up on them.]

Kaiwen did not reply.

She knew Kallen was talking about Teacher Baishi. It was truly amazing that Teacher Baishi could rescue so many people here all by herself.

If they had arrived any later, Kaiwen would not be sure how much longer Teacher Baishi could hold on.

There was quietness between the two of them for a long time.

The wind blew across the camp, making the clothes on the clothesline sway gently.

Kaiwen stood up and slowly walked a circle along the edge of the camp.

She walked past the gaps between the tents, past the tin sheds piled with canned food, and past the makeshift stove built with stones.

Finally, she walked to the low wall on the outermost periphery of the camp.

Going outward from here were the wasteland areas in the suburbs of Changkong City that had been torn apart by the Honkai.

Kaiwen leaned against the low wall, looking into the distance.

Then she sensed something.

It was as if the temperature of the air had changed, as if something was watching her from some invisible corner.

[Kaiwen.]

The voice of Kallen suddenly tightened.

[Something is approaching. I do not recognize it, but... it gives me a very uncomfortable feeling. Extremely uncomfortable.]

The hand of Kaiwen rested on the edge of the low wall, her fingertips tightening slightly. She also felt this distressing sensation.

Soon, a familiar voice drifted out from the shadows of the ruins.

"Respected Miss Kaiwen."

The voice paused for a moment.

"We meet again."